By Xinhua
Tokyo : Two ships of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) will leave Japan later this month for the Indian Ocean to resume refueling mission for the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan, Kyodo News reported Friday.
The destroyer Murasame will leave Yokosuka port in central Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture on Jan. 24 and the fleet support ship Oumi will leave Sasebo port in southern Japan’s Nagasaki Prefecture on Jan. 25 to join each other on their way, Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba was quoted as telling reporters.
The MSDF began loading one of the ships on Friday as other preparation work has been under way.
The refueling mission has been suspended since Nov. 1 as the previous antiterrorism special measures law expired. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the government managed anew bill authorizing the mission through the Diet last week by a seldom-used legislative rule, overriding the rejection of the Upper House, which is controlled by the opposition bloc.
The bill has been the focus of Japanese politics since the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which confined the LDP’s dominance only to the Lower House after last year’s Upper House election, refused to cooperate on the issue.